Vikings already kicking Packer ass
Interesting Excerpts from a McGinn article on the undrafted free agent class...Green Bay ended up with what appears to be a ho-hum collection of talent. Long a leader in production from free agents, the Packers’ 14-man contingent seems down in quality from previous years.
“Nothing exciting about this group,” an AFC executive in personnel said. “A low-budget accumulation.”“Lot of small-school guys,” the executive said. “It’s a pretty average group overall.”
The breakdown of the 14 shows eight from major programs (FBS), four from FCS programs, one from NCAA Division II and one from NCAA Division III.
Last week, the Minnesota Vikings released a list of 17 rookie free agents that had agreed to terms. The Vikings (13-3 in 2017) are the team that the Packers (7-9 in ’17) must catch in the NFC North Division.
Of the Vikings’ 17 undrafted players, 14 came from FBS programs and three from FCS. I had discussed nine of the 17 with scouts.
Holton Hill of Texas was my No. 12 cornerback, Tray Matthews of Auburn was my No. 13 safety, Roc Thomas of Jacksonville State was my No. 14 running back, Hercules Mata’afa of Washington State was my No. 21 edge rusher and Garret Dooley of Wisconsin was my No. 25 edge rusher. I also had asked scouts about wide receivers Jeff Badet of Oklahoma, Korey Robertson of Southern Mississippi and Jake Wieneke of South Dakota State, and defensive tackle Curtis Cothran of Penn State.
How did the Vikings secure so many of the better undrafted players to join them?
“They bought them,” said a source familiar with the Vikings’ financial practices. “They guaranteed money on the base (salary).”
Rob Brzezinski, the Vikings’ executive vice president of football operations and lead contract negotiator, guaranteed portions of the base salaries for all five players whose contract data was available. Those guarantees were $35,000 for Robertson, $30,000 for Dooley, $15,000 for Cothran and $10,000 each for Badet and defensive end Jonathan Wynn of Vanderbilt.
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“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't." - Tom Waits
31 other teams in the league can "buy" players, too, if they want to...
More or less, we bought tryouts. The rest of the league will absorb whoever we cut from this group if they feel they're worth absorbing. If the Vikings are willing to pay for tryouts all that tells me is that they want to win. I think it's great.
How do other teams not do this? Especially Jerry? I have my doubts that this is some new wrinkle in the game.
Well if we have a bit of luck with one or two of these guys you can bet the other teams in the league will start doing the same. Happy to do it. Let's hope it pays dividends.
@"Vikergirl" said: Damn! That's not too bad for a tryout.no kidding. where do i sign up?
McCarthy got the golden egg in Rodgers. At a time when the rest the division was in flux. He parlayed his "success" into 5 straight NFCN titles. He was convinced of his brilliance by being able to build through rookies and not free agents. Well the Vikings are no longer in flux and took 2 of 3 titles. Maybe singlehandedly gave the fat guy his pink slip. Now suddenly the Packers need as much talent as they can get. However they are seemingly still not up to Rick's speed. Now Gutekunst has to learn fast and acquire faster.
Welcome to the new world.
@"suncoastvike" said: McCarthy got the golden egg in Rodgers. At a time when the rest the division was in flux. He parlayed his "success" into 5 straight NFCN titles. He was convinced of his brilliance by being able to build through rookies and not free agents. Well the Vikings are no longer in flux and took 2 of 3 titles. Maybe singlehandedly gave the fat guy his pink slip. Now suddenly the Packers need as much talent as they can get. However they are seemingly still not up to Rick's speed. Now Gutekunst has to learn fast and acquire faster. Welcome to the new world.
It's a new front office there now and I'm sensing some urgency on their part to win while Rogers is still capable of controlling outcomes.
Gutekunst job is not easy, but still easier than most GM's in the league with an Apex QB.
That said, I think the moves we made widens the gap between the teams and I like our chances to make a deep playoff run again...
Instert Vanguard here;
@"purplefaithful" said:@"suncoastvike" said: McCarthy got the golden egg in Rodgers. At a time when the rest the division was in flux. He parlayed his "success" into 5 straight NFCN titles. He was convinced of his brilliance by being able to build through rookies and not free agents. Well the Vikings are no longer in flux and took 2 of 3 titles. Maybe singlehandedly gave the fat guy his pink slip. Now suddenly the Packers need as much talent as they can get. However they are seemingly still not up to Rick's speed. Now Gutekunst has to learn fast and acquire faster. Welcome to the new world.
It's a new front office there now and I'm sensing some urgency on their part to win while Rogers is still capable of controlling outcomes.Gutekunst job is not easy, but still easier than most GM's in the league with an Apex QB.
That said, I think the moves we made widens the gap between the teams and I like our chances to make a deep playoff run again...
Instert Vanguard here;
I agree Rodgers does make life easier on any GM. However their last 2 "successful" seasons both ended at 10-6 with Rodgers. They were able to win one of the 5 straight with a 8-7-1 record. Having Aaron does not equal great success. Having a bunch of garbage to compete against does. That now might be over for them. That might be the reality they are finally waking up to. However the rest the division may be awake as well. We appear out in front with our roster and new acquisitions.
@"MaroonBells" said:So the Vikings won the services of free agent players by offering them more upfront money.Interesting Excerpts from a McGinn article on the undrafted free agent class...How did the Vikings secure so many of the better undrafted players to join them? “They bought them,” said a source familiar with the Vikings’ financial practices. “They guaranteed money on the base (salary).”...
OH MY GOD!! WHAT A CONCEPT!
@"JimmyinSD" said: How do other teams not do this? Especially Jerry? I have my doubts that this is some new wrinkle in the game.
They don't need to. Some teams have natural advantages in attracting players who have freedom to choose. Weather is a factor, but the biggest is that a lot of players will stay close to home. Texas, California, and Florida each have about 10 division 1 college football programs - and schools in nearby states which don't have an NFL team.
Meanwhile, we can only count on hometown favoritism from the mighty Gopher football program..
I remember many, many years when the Vikings would publish their list of UDFAs and it was just 10 guys from local D3 colleges like St. John's, Macalester, Concordia...and it was obvious they were just tackling dummies for camp.
@"Jor-El" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: How do other teams not do this? Especially Jerry? I have my doubts that this is some new wrinkle in the game.They don't need to. Some teams have natural advantages in attracting players who have freedom to choose. Weather is a factor, but the biggest is that a lot of players will stay close to home. Texas, California, and Florida each have about 10 division 1 college football programs - and schools in nearby states which don't have an NFL team.
Meanwhile, we can only count on hometown favoritism from the mighty Gopher football program..
I remember many, many years when the Vikings would publish their list of UDFAs and it was just 10 guys from local D3 colleges like St. John's, Macalester, Concordia...and it was obvious they were just tackling dummies for camp.
money talks and BS walks, if a team is offering cash vs hope and hype... the agents will make sure the kids are headed some place they will get paid. if you are an undrafted kid with a long shot to make it in the league, are you going to go to dallas because its close to home and they are willing to give you a no cost look... or to a team that is willing to put money down for a chance to see you workout for them? IMO the kids are looking for fit and finance over weather and being close to home.
The past 2-3 years the Vikings have really made a shift in how they approach UDFA and the early returns have made them become even more aggressive. The Patriots have been guaranteeing UDFA base salaries for years (to much success) and now other teams are starting to realize its an easy way to add good depth to the roster. Good depth in the sense that a lot of these guys do have the potential to compete for a roster spot.
When all is set and done if any of the UDFA's made the final 53 it costs the Vikings nothing additional. If they end up cutting them they still have the potential to stay home on the PS or walk away with the Vikings taking a measly $10-30K in dead money.
@"Geoff Nichols" said: The past 2-3 years the Vikings have really made a shift in how they approach UDFA and the early returns have made them become even more aggressive. The Patriots have been guaranteeing UDFA base salaries for years (to much success) and now other teams are starting to realize its an easy way to add good depth to the roster. Good depth in the sense that a lot of these guys do have the potential to compete for a roster spot.When all is set and done if any of the UDFA's made the final 53 it costs the Vikings nothing additional. If they end up cutting them they still have the potential to stay home on the PS or walk away with the Vikings taking a measly $10-30K in dead money.
It just seems like a natural outgrowth of dropping the draft from 12 rounds to 7 - I'm only surprised it took 20 years for some teams to realize there were a few more rounds of potential players available after the draft ended.
@"Jor-El" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: How do other teams not do this? Especially Jerry? I have my doubts that this is some new wrinkle in the game.They don't need to. Some teams have natural advantages in attracting players who have freedom to choose. Weather is a factor, but the biggest is that a lot of players will stay close to home. Texas, California, and Florida each have about 10 division 1 college football programs - and schools in nearby states which don't have an NFL team.
Meanwhile, we can only count on hometown favoritism from the mighty Gopher football program..
I remember many, many years when the Vikings would publish their list of UDFAs and it was just 10 guys from local D3 colleges like St. John's, Macalester, Concordia...and it was obvious they were just tackling dummies for camp.
What's wrong with Concordia?!? :#:p
@"Jor-El" said:@"Geoff Nichols" said: The past 2-3 years the Vikings have really made a shift in how they approach UDFA and the early returns have made them become even more aggressive. The Patriots have been guaranteeing UDFA base salaries for years (to much success) and now other teams are starting to realize its an easy way to add good depth to the roster. Good depth in the sense that a lot of these guys do have the potential to compete for a roster spot.When all is set and done if any of the UDFA's made the final 53 it costs the Vikings nothing additional. If they end up cutting them they still have the potential to stay home on the PS or walk away with the Vikings taking a measly $10-30K in dead money.
It just seems like a natural outgrowth of dropping the draft from 12 rounds to 7 - I'm only surprised it took 20 years for some teams to realize there were a few more rounds of potential players available after the draft ended.
There is a lot of truth to this in my opinion.
@"Jor-El" said:@"Geoff Nichols" said: The past 2-3 years the Vikings have really made a shift in how they approach UDFA and the early returns have made them become even more aggressive. The Patriots have been guaranteeing UDFA base salaries for years (to much success) and now other teams are starting to realize its an easy way to add good depth to the roster. Good depth in the sense that a lot of these guys do have the potential to compete for a roster spot.When all is set and done if any of the UDFA's made the final 53 it costs the Vikings nothing additional. If they end up cutting them they still have the potential to stay home on the PS or walk away with the Vikings taking a measly $10-30K in dead money.
It just seems like a natural outgrowth of dropping the draft from 12 rounds to 7 - I'm only surprised it took 20 years for some teams to realize there were a few more rounds of potential players available after the draft ended.
Interesting point of fact: When John Randle went undrafted, the draft was 12 rounds, making his path to stardom even more impressive.
@"MaroonBells" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"Geoff Nichols" said: The past 2-3 years the Vikings have really made a shift in how they approach UDFA and the early returns have made them become even more aggressive. The Patriots have been guaranteeing UDFA base salaries for years (to much success) and now other teams are starting to realize its an easy way to add good depth to the roster. Good depth in the sense that a lot of these guys do have the potential to compete for a roster spot.When all is set and done if any of the UDFA's made the final 53 it costs the Vikings nothing additional. If they end up cutting them they still have the potential to stay home on the PS or walk away with the Vikings taking a measly $10-30K in dead money.
It just seems like a natural outgrowth of dropping the draft from 12 rounds to 7 - I'm only surprised it took 20 years for some teams to realize there were a few more rounds of potential players available after the draft ended.
Interesting point of fact: When John Randle went undrafted, the draft was 12 rounds, making his path to stardom even more impressive.
you have to subtract out comp picks and at least the panthers and jags picks. not sure if theres enough to get a whole round or two?
@"pumpf" said:@"Jor-El" said:@"JimmyinSD" said: How do other teams not do this? Especially Jerry? I have my doubts that this is some new wrinkle in the game.They don't need to. Some teams have natural advantages in attracting players who have freedom to choose. Weather is a factor, but the biggest is that a lot of players will stay close to home. Texas, California, and Florida each have about 10 division 1 college football programs - and schools in nearby states which don't have an NFL team.
Meanwhile, we can only count on hometown favoritism from the mighty Gopher football program..
I remember many, many years when the Vikings would publish their list of UDFAs and it was just 10 guys from local D3 colleges like St. John's, Macalester, Concordia...and it was obvious they were just tackling dummies for camp.
What's wrong with Concordia?!? :#:p
Very liberal school. Probably more dangerous to young adults faith than a state university given that Concordia actually has religion classes to try to refute Biblical Christianity. Don't worry mod, I will not go any further.
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